August 19, 2005
Announcing WBW13: Like Wine For Chocolate
I have the pleasure to announce that I will be hosting the 13th edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday, scheduled for September 7. Being the chocolate lover that I am, the theme I have set is Like Wine for Chocolate*: for this edition I would like you to look for a wine that will pair beautifully with an intensely flavored chocolate cake. Sweet or dry, red, white, rosé or polka-dotted -- your choice entirely!
Below, you will find my super-easy recipe for Melt-in-your-mouth Chocolate Cake (a variation of the cake I featured many moons ago), but you should feel free to use your own recipe or simply buy it from your favorite bakery. However, to make our entries comparable it should preferably be a dense and moist chocolate cake -- think nut-less brownies.
All bloggers (food, wine or otherwise) are welcome to participate. Post your entry on Wednesday, September 7 -- complete with tasting notes, comments and a picture of the wine and cake if you can -- then email me with a link to your entry. I will post a roundup in the following days.
I am looking forward to seeing what you will come up with. Happy choco-wine tasting!
*In reference to Laura Esquivel's superb novel Like Water for Chocolate
Melt-in-your-mouth Chocolate Cake
- 200g (2 sticks minus 1 Tbsp) unsalted butter
- 200g (7 oz) dark chocolate
- 200g (1 C) sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4 eggs
- a rounded tablespoon of flour
Note: like all dark chocolate cakes, this cake is best made a day ahead (or at least in the morning if you serve it for dinner).
Pre-heat your oven to 180°C (350°F). Line an 8-inch round cake pan with parchment paper (no need to if you're using a non-stick pan).
Melt together the butter with the chocolate (in a double-boiler or in the microwave slowly and for just a few seconds at a time, blending with a spoon between each pass). Transfer into a medium mixing-bowl. Add in the sugar and salt, stir with a wooden spoon and let cool a little. Add in the eggs one by one, mixing well after each addition. Finally, add in the flour and mix well.
Pour the dough into the pan, and put into the oven to bake for 30 minutes. Turn the oven off but leave the cake inside for another ten minutes, then put the pan on a cooling rack on the counter to cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate, and take it out about an hour before serving.
 Like Wine for Chocolate: Ze Round-Up! |
 Like Mas Amiel For Chocolate (WBW13) |
 Chocolate Coconut Muffins (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free) |
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Thanks for hosting, Clotilde...and this is a great theme that I expect we'll have a lot of fun with!
Love the theme and the picture! :-)
I'm so looking forward to this! I'm going to have to make the cake gluten-free, but that should be easy with how little flour is in this recipe. And I have been avidly reading this site for years, and just now have a food blog, so I can participate in the contest!
I'm going to start scouting wines tonight....
Thanks for hosting, Clotilde.
Very clever idea, Clotilde. I have a recipe in mind, now I just need to think of a wine (I have some ideas :) ).
Good choice: I'd rather have chocolate than zucchini with wine ;)
No, I love zucchini!
Maybe chocolate zucchini cake?
this is what is also called as "flourless chocolate cake" right?
btw, what is the flour for? i think it'll be nice to use ground almond or ground hazelnuts in place of it.
I just knew it was going to be you hosting the next WBW when Lenn wrote " I think you all know the hostess...and are going to really enjoy the theme."
mouthwatering
What a fabulous idea, Clotilde! I might have to come out of my self-induced wine "dry-spell" to join in on this one...thanks!
i have to miss this delcious sounding edition of WBW :( I am going to be on vacation. In a place without fine wines or chocolate, I imagine.
more cocktails and curry.
have fun with it Clotilde!
i make the original chocolate cake recipe that clotilde refers to without flour and it is always welcomed with open arms and open mouths. i often pair this delightful dessert with a sweet framboise wine and sit back to enjoy the looks of extacy on my friend faces.
ahhh... chocolate!
I simply adored Laura Esquivel's novel, have read it many many times.....oh the joys of reading and cooking!! Still love your website, even though I don't say much, I come and stare, awed, regularly.....
I made your almost flourless cake last night to serve tonight to another foodblogger and her mum. I cant wait to try it. It was super easy to make.
Red wine and dark chocolate has been a favored combo in our family for years. Many a holiday meal has been finished off with a wee glass and a chocolate truffle or two.
Are truffles acceptable as a cake sub? :-)
chocolate truffles are always acceptable as a substitute for anything!
This sounds really fun! I haven't yet posted for a WBW (my blog's just a couple of months new), but I can't pass on this one. Besides, any excuse to make (and eat) a decadent sounding chocolate cake is motivation enough for me to participate.
I can't wait to try making this cake. Sounds divine!
Hmmmm... methinks we will be seeing a LOT of Banyuls or sparkling....
Hoping there are other experiments beyond the obvious!
Fantastic theme! I was at a nice restaurant in Pleasanton the other night with my wife, and we just had to order the Chocolate Soufflé. "Which wine would pair the best" was the dilemma I left to the Sommelier, and to my surprise, I wasn"t impressed with the 10 year Tawny Port he picked out. So, I see this as being a very educational WBW, especially to see what others come up with.
Cheers!
Fun!
will try do something similar in spanish for the same date. Will tell you all about it.
Can't find the link to "many moons ago"
Great idea Clotilde, will try to participate.
clotilde,
i've made monkey's version of your cake three times now and it is always amazing. and each time, it has been accompanied by red wine. what a cool idea for a party...
Count me in! I already know a wine theme I'm working on for this one...CD
very delicious cake. When I turned it on to the rack it was still wet and fell apart. Think I should have let it cool further in the pan. Very delicious
Living up in Wine Country, we are often offered a taste of chocolate with some red and/or dessert wine. The one that sticks in my mind was a certain winery's port. I mentioned I thought it would be amazing in cake, and the tasting room pourer said as a matter of fact they did use it in a chocolate cake recipe. If I can manage to dig it up, I'll post on Sept. 7.
Btw, I love novels about cooking, esp. ones that include recipes. Esquivel used the idea "like water for chocolate" symbolically. The water used to make Mexican hot chocolate is heated to a point just below where it would burst out boiling. Likewise, so many of the emotions and dramatic tensions in the book are simmering away, threatening to erupt.
I've been away for awhile and now I have to catch up!
Count me in, too. I have a wine in mind, will report back when I make that decadent looking cake. I can feel my thighs expanding and my arteries contracting already. But wait! Isn't the wine supposed to counteract all that?
karl... a tip on the cake. turn it out directly onto a plate. the moist tastiness of this cake lacks rigidity to stand up to a trip to the rack.
Oo, I can't wait, Clotilde! This is such a great idea. Does port count as wine for this?
I could almost taste this RICH chocolate cake just reading the rcp!
How serendipitous that this was Clotilde's post for 8/19 since that's this Chocoholic's B-day.
As for wine to go w this choc cake - I was thinking more of a dessert wine or a liqueur. Something along the lines of a late harvest riesling. Of course I think everything is enhanced by sambucca (definition of sambucca: anisette that died and went to heaven).
There's a mixed liqueur that will absolutely pair wildly w this cake: it's called "slippery nipple". Pour sambucca in a thin liqueur glass - about 3/4 full. Tilt the glass and s-l-o-w-l-y pour from on top just under the rim, letting the liquid run gently along the side of the glass, Bailey's Irish Creme - a scant eight of an inch. Then just as s-l-o-w-l-y tilt the glass to the straight upright position. If you did it properly; the Bailey's will form a distinct layer on top of the sambucca and a bead/tear or nipple will form at the very center of the layer, not quite falling completely into the sambucca but tantalizingly dangling there.
Voilá - your "slippery nipple"!!! How decadent can one get?
VG fr NJ, USA
Hi Clotilde,
im very new to blogging and only just found out about IMBB. I would love to give it a try. I have recently made a Chocolate Molten cake....is that a good choice? I am making it again (using another recipe on Thursday) if this is acceptable, i shall pair it with my wine.
Hope to hear from you soon! Cheers!
This is a great idea...it is actually a lot like my "Really Big Cook-Off" too ... only baking isnt a part of that. I am excited to see how everyones cakes turn out!
http://freshcatering.blogspot.com/2005/08/first-really-big-cook-off.html
I cant wait to take part!
Rachael
I have always wanted to participate in an IMBB
Having started my culinary life as pastry chef.. and now living in the land if wine, Italy, this is a prefect challenge
so exciting :o)
looking forward to it!
duygu
Will a chocolate molten cake stuffed with pistachio nuts will be acceptable ? basically, in the heart of the cake, there's kind of a puree of pistachio nuts. It's lovely, I have eaten this years ago in a restaurant :)
If it is, and even if it's not - I'll find something else - I'll participate.
Looking forward to it !
Clotilde, I made your lovely cake and my pairing turned out to be a surprise, but an old favorite! Please add me to the participant list tomorrow.
CD
Hi Clotilde,
I just added an Epilogue to my tasting notes and found a great foil for your melt-in-your-mouth cake (which I discovered, if you use the right chocolate, keeps the whole house up all night!)
Yum!
Thank you for this recipe and the idea of wine to go with it. Fabulous for any adult birthday party.
http://birthday-ideas.blogspot.com/
Can I freeze this cake? If so, for how long? And how will I thaw it? I'm having a party in a 1.5 weeks and won't have time between now and then to bake (taking exams). Thanks for your help. I've really enjoyed everything I've made from your blog so far. I'm looking forward to this cake.
have you tried Valdespino black sherry with chocolate? It is a match made in heaven
( Valdespino is Spanish and I am australian )
Hi,
I made cupcakes with the reciepe and they were great...a little crumbly though, did I cook them to long?
Hood River Vineyards makes a delicious, intense, dark, fruity and slightly tart dessert wine called Blackcap Raspberry that would be fabulous with this cake or any dark chocolate dessert.
somehow missed Incanto, even though I work close by, in Potrero Hill. I'll definitely check it out soon. Thanks for this one.
Just found this recipe - sounds delicious and I want to try it out. One question (and I apologize if this is already addressed in a FAQ section or something) - is the butter used supposed to be salted or unsalted? I will assume, since there is no salt added in the recipe, that normal, salted butter is what is required since every other chocolate cake recipe I've seen adds salt (and uses unsalted butter). Thanks for sharing this recipe!
You're right -- it's best to use salted butter here, or unsalted plus a 1/4 teaspoon salt. I'll specify that in the recipe. Happy baking!